DIEP 2013

Tracy516

Thanks bailey6760!! I know that's my case. Also I needed to lose weight anyway but could have done with the help!!;) lol I even joined a GYM I'm February ! Guess ill get back to it later?!

Anonymous

That's fortunate that you had some gym time in before dx Tracy....that can only help going in to this, even if you weren't where you wanted to be. You will hopefully be able to use that membership to aid in your rehab. I was back on the treadmill (slow and short!) at 4-5 weeks or so. I can swim now and hope to start next weekend. My med professionals all say swimming will help reduce swelling.

goldie4040

Faith, I just finished reading an article about swelling and tummy tucks.  They also recommended low carb diet, and reduce salt intake.  The reason the tummy swells is they have cut the lymph nodes, and they need to regenerate.  Most women will find they swell below the incision.  Its worth a try, if you can do it. See, sleeping on your back isn't all bad if it makes you look younger!

Jeannie, BCBS has to take you if your husband is in a group program.  According to the new Health Care Act, they cannot discriminate due to pre existing condition.  That is awesome about the 5 pounds.  You sound so much better.  It is good to hear.  And, a day alone might be good for you.

Marty, Nola will take me, but it would be out of Network.

Mammalou, hope you are resting and healing today.

SSla...did you get your drains out yet?

christina0001

Wow, too many posts to respond to all. Someone asked about doing DIEP before or after rads - my PS also will only do DIEP after several months have passed since having radiation. So I booked my consult with my PS for the week after I was done with rads. And someone was wondering which PS to use - there are plenty of surgeons to choose from, don't feel like you have to go to the PS your oncologist recommends, or even one of the few that are the most popular here on this forum. Of course though you want a PS that does a LOT of DIEPs. Some PS offices are tricky when you call and try to tell you that a free TRAM is the same thing - it is not.

Glad to be home and I am already feeling much better overall. My breathing is totally back to normal. Maybe I just needed some good country air! My energy level is still quite limited - I about passed out last night emptying my drains, and then again doing a sponge bath and the drains this morning was rough, too. The pain is tolerable - I have oxycodone + a OnQ ball that is keeping my belly area totally numb. I have extended release morphine too but I am trying to not take it. I am using tylenol as well and that really helps. My other problem is itching as I am allergic to the surgical glue. PS says it if gets worse, she will have to peel it all off during my follow-up on Wednesday, which sounds very painful! In the meantime she has me using cortizone cream and taking benedryl, and that's keeping the itching to a relatively tolerable level.

As much as I hurt and itch, it is so nice to look down at myself and see two breasts instead of just one. I am already so pleased with the cosmetic results of my breasts and belly and that's with the swelling. I'm calling my new breast my Barbie boob, since there is no nipple.

I hope those who have had their surgery are healing well, and for those still waiting, I hope the time flies!

Jeannie57

Goldie, the pre-existing condition part of the Healthcare Act doesn't apply until 2014. I do not think lymph nodes regenerate. Having lymphedema in both arms, that would be great news, indeed.

faith729

Christina lol some of us were talking before about having a ken mound (fupa) so now I have a full image of ken and Barbie anatomy lol ken mounds and Barbie boobs perfect !



Goldie I just might keep sleeping on my back and im definitely going to try to cut back on carbs and see if that'll help.



Question for veterans I have been doing my scar massage and have notice for quite a while that I have a small hard lump under one part of my ab scar it doesn't hurt but hasnt gone away ..any ideas ?

Anonymous

Oh! Christine! I hope your DH is there to catch you on your faints! Are you a fainter in the past or is this new? Please be careful! That is why I had a shower chair and a walker and strict instructions to SIT DOWN if I felt the least bit woozy. I never went all the way out but was glad I was sitting down in the shower for sure. Darn narcotics don't help in that aspect.



Glad your breathing is better. Glue coming off didn't hurt because I was still numb even weeks later.



Barbie boob is exactly right. A few months or so ago somebody called their FUPA a "Ken mound"!

goldie4040

Jeannie, I thnk you misunderstood me about the lymphnode thing. The nodes in the tummy where cut, not removed. According to this article about post tummy tuck swelling, they will work again, but it takes time.  

Some of that Health Care Act must have gone into play, because I stopped paying co-pays for Woman Well Care about two years ago.  

Jeannie57

Yes, Goldie, some of the Healthcare act is effective now, like free mammograms and yearly exams, as well as kids up to age 26 being covered by their parents' plans. The body is an amazing thing in the healing it can do, re:lymph node regeneration!

Anonymous

Ha...we are crossing posts lol...sounds like a spot of fat necrosis, Faith. Or could be a little superficial (not to worry about!!! ) blood clot in a superficial vein. (I had one for months in my upper port scar that is on my collar bone that sent me running to the oncologist worried about a recurrence. It is actually gone since diep! I think it was all the blood thinners). Or simply scar tissue. Ask doc next time you are in...unless it changes, of course.

goldie4040

Christine,

Glad you are home safe and sound.  Rest rest rest.  I am so glad you are happy with your results almost immediately.  That really says something about your surgeon!

Sounds like they got you taken care of in the pain department. 

Barbie boobs, that is good. She will definitely look good with the Ken mound doll.  Maybe we can call Mattel and see if they will work on a prototype for us.  

sbelizabeth

Called my PS this morning when thei office opened.  He was a little peeved I hadn't called yesterday (oh, the wisdom of the women here!) and will see me after his surgery this afternoon.  He's guessing he'll admit me for IV antibiotics.  Rats...will this mess up my Stage II on 8/15??

Jeannie57

Oh, sbe, I hope it doesn't mess up your stage II but nobody has to tell you that your health is the most impt. thing. Prayers for you.

FierceBluebird

Warning... I apologize ahead of time for this next post. I am beside myself in misery. I made the mistake of finally looking at what my medical team has been calling a "blood blister" on my breast.  It is a hideous mess of black skin, dying skin and open wound. I am in shock. I haven't cried this hard since my diagnosis. For two weeks I haven't looked at it since it's been covered with a pad. I thought the incisions were bad enough. A "blood blister" doesn't sound that bad! Over the weekend I got brave enough to take my ipod and use the facetime camera reverse to get a look at it. Big mistake! I was a veterinary nurse for many years and even with the horrific wounds I've seen on animals, it's a shock to me.  I can't believe this thing is ever going to heal. It's like waking up and finding a quarter of your leg has rotted away. I have had nurses coming to the house and they don't seem concerned about it. I'm sorry I'm such a downer today. I'm just so shocked.  I guess I now know why they are using Silvadine (3rd degree burn cream). I know I should stay focused on the positive, but gosh this is the most awful thing I've ever seen and can't believe this will heal into anything remotely resembling a breast.

Anonymous

Marty J - I have a dogear on one side at the end of the incision but that isn't where a drain was positioned.  So I believe it is from trying to tuck skin to make it close properly. 

Movie maniac -- I used to use the bar to hang (not by the boots - OUCH!)  I know you were just being funny.  It helped with the lumps under the arm but since it comes crashing down and tries to kill innocent bystanders, I took it down. 

Anonymous

I am almost 100% sure I am going to do a 2nd revision in a month or so, to take some volume off one side and a little lipo off the muffin top.  No matter what, it will be costly even with insurance -- WISH ME LUCK for the results I hope for ....

((()))) shelly

Tracy516

((((Bluebird))) HUGS!! Stay strong! A good hard cry is ok! It clears you out of all your built up emotions! Now heal up!!

Anonymous

My understanding from lymph specialists I work with is that if your lymph vessels are "damaged", like in a tummy tuck surgery, the vessels can usually "repair" themselves in time (regrow...find new pathways). When lymph nodes are totally removed new ones cannot grow. For some people removing lymph nodes during bc sx is not a problem....the nodes and vessels that remain can "take over" and move the lymph fluid. For other people who have nodes removed the remaining parts of the lymph system in the affected area can't do the job on it's own. Other times the lymph system in an area is damaged by radiation to the point it cannot heal. So we get a build up of fluid in that area. In order to help the nodes and vessels that remain do the job we do manual lymph drainage (which they think may help to stimulate the system that remains and "encourages" the fluid to find new pathways) and wear compression sleeves, gloves or gauntlets, compression bras and other garments. There are also electric devices that are worn for certain periods during a day to help move the lymph fluid for more serious cases. There are also doctors that are doing lymph transfer surgeries that transplant healthy nodes and vessels into an area with damaged nodes and vessels to do the drainage work in that area. Pretty cool stuff!

Anonymous

Bluebird...hugs!!! Have that good cry.



I think it is always easier to see something like this on someone else than it is on ourselves (or our children!). It just has a totally different effect on us. Take it to a simple level....what I see as a humongous, hideous zit on my face wouldn't catch my attention on somebody else's face. Do you know what I am saying?



Several people here have described the same thing...I think Kuka, Movie, Damiana, Mammalou have all had similar experiences. Kuka and Movie healed....the others are still working on it.



You are only 2 weeks out. Your body has not had the chance...you will heal. This is a big surgery and we have tissue from one part of our bodies removed and attached to a new part of the body....it's amazing it works at all, but it will. Look at your other inches of incisions....you have far more that looks good and is healing than isn't. You will be ok. Your body and your mind and your heart will all heal. Hugs!



Sbel - So sorry! Wth? Please post to us later. Prayers for you!

PS...I hope that didn't sound like I was comparing your problem to a zit, Bluebird! Just meant that what your nurses are seeing doesn't have the same effect on them as it does on you!

Barbmal5

Goldie - I also had 3 c-sections, darn kids got me all messed up! I was an A/B cup and they made me a C!! It's way too much I'm going to ask for a solid B.  Sometimes it's fun to have so much cleavage. I've never had cleavage other than between my cheeks.  What power these puppies hold! It was fun but they really seem to get in the way, much more comfortable a little smaller for me.

Mammalou - I'm not saying it's the same but I had what sounds very similar at about the same time in my healing.  What pain, couldnt find a single comfortable position.  Found out it was just a serious case of gas!  I was never so happy to take the medicine and the next day felt FANTASTIC.  Who'd a thought?  Hopefully it'll be something as simple for you.

I'm never going to lay in any position but my back ever again.  Try looking down into a mirror - OMG! (Don't ask how I found this out).  Nobody should ever see that.

Kuka and Relocated hope you are both doing well.

Again, what is the flashlight trick?

christina0001

Bluebird, that sounds so scary. How wonderful that you have visiting nurses to help keep an eye on the wound. Hopefully the doctor is also seeing it regularly?

Bailey - a shower chair sure would have been helpful. What I ended up doing was sitting on the side of the tub with a towel beneath me, and doing a quick sponge bath. Fortunately I have not actually fainted, but did get very lightheaded, so I would quickly sit on the floor and call for my husband to help.

Anonymous

This is sort of off topic but thought I would share. I am home sick today with some sort of nasty gastro upset, so I am back in my "recovery room" (family room) in the recliner (gabbing incessantly at all of you lol!). Before my mx I bought 3 shepherd's hooks and 3 bird feeders and put them right outside the window in this room, with 3 different kinds of food. And I picked up a book, "Birds of Michigan". It was a nice little diversion when I couldn't concentrate to read and was sick of tv! They are quite entertaining...even the squirrels and chipmunks.

goldie4040

I am sorry. I used the wrong words to try to describe what I read.  I should have just posted the article.

Jeannie, you are right, lymph nodes do not regenerate.

Bailey, what you wrote is closer to what they said.  The lymph system is cut, and damaged during surgery, and it will eventually re-compensate for itself, it does take time, and but the body is an amazing thing and it can heal itself from many horrible injuries, even the self inflicted from surgery. The swelling of the tummy after a tummy tuck does take some time. Anyway, if you want to help it along a low carb diet, and less salt can also help. 

SBE, hope everything is okay once they start you on the antibiotics.  Keep us posted.

Bluebird, sorry you are so down.  It so hard to look.  I didn't for a very long time after my bmx.  I had one vantage point I saw everything from while my husband changed my dressing, other than that I never looked. One day the swelling was down, and I could see my scar, and I lost it.  I know how you feel. I wish Kuka was around today.  When I first met her all she talked about was her blister, then one day it was gone.  Now she is off having stage 2.  You deserve you good cry, and maybe a call to the PS for some reassurance wouldn't be a bad idea.

ssla01

Yes, Goldie, I still have the dreaded drains. Friday will be seven weeks. I am helpful that one may come out this week. The other one has lost its mind and is putting out over 100 cc's a day. Jeannie, I am so jealous of your drain free week, you lucky girl.



Barb, if you put a flashlight against your foob in a dark room, it will glow.



Katy, keep us posted. Healing toughts and prayers for you.



(((bluebird))). I'm so sorry about your bad day. Sending you healing prayers as well.

goldie4040

Ssla, I am so sorry.  I will continue to hope they slow down.

Jeannie57

Ssla, I am so sorry about your drains. You are amazing to have put up with them for so long! I was just lucky as far as drains go, I guess.



Bluebird. ((((((Big hugs!))))))))



Goldie, no word yet? Sheesh.



I am not sure what I should be doing....I took my longest walk yet but now I am just sitting around. I wish it didn't hurt to breathe. But I am thankful to be in the healing phase.

damiana9

sbe- oh no! a stay in the hospital doesn't sound fun at all. I really hope it doesn't mess with your stage 2!



Bluebird- I have a spot that started out as a blood blister as well. I know it looks terrible and scary and feels like the end of the world but it's not. You still have your flap! You might need to get patched up, but truly it is not

damiana9

sbe- oh no! a stay in the hospital doesn't sound fun at all. I really hope it doesn't mess with your stage 2!



Bluebird- I have a spot that started out as a blood blister as well. I know it looks terrible and scary and feels like the end of the world but it's not. You still have your flap! You might need to get patched up, but truly it is not a big deal, it is just a huge annoyance! I got my necrotic tissue removed from my spot 2 weeks ago- it left me with a boob hole. I had to pack it, which I didn't like but I got used to doing, and it is filling in nicely. I will go in next week to have it all stitched closed. Then I will go on with Stage 2 after that.

Cherrie

I just got back from vacation today. No Internet. Ouch.......I am 24 pages behind. It may take me a while to read, but I will.



Yay to all you girls who have gone in while I was gone. Marty.....I am thinking of you girl. You are in great hands.

goldie4040

Jeannie, did they ever mention pleurisy to you?  I had it once after a really bad cold, and it hurt like you are explaining, but no other symptoms. I even felt like I was getting enough air, it just hurt to breath.

I have heard nothing yet, Jeannie.  Although, how we left it is that if they denied coverage they would call me, but I should plan on having the test Aug 13th, results the 14th. I am definitely going to call before I go. It would really make me upset to drink all that gross stuff, and then not have the test.